'A Christmas Carol' Returns to Stage (and Radio)

"A Christmas Carol," presented as a radio play will be part of the seasonal entertainment offerings on the South Fork.
Dane Dupuis

The East End is rich with theatrical happenings throughout the year, with venues from Quogue to Montauk offering comedy, music, and drama, but Center Stage at the Southampton Cultural Center seems to have cornered the market on the live radio play, which has become a holiday tradition there since 2014, when the theater’s creative director, Michael Disher, directed and Bonnie Grice of WPPB 88.3 FM produced “It’s a Wonderful Life.”

The idea had its genesis in 2011, when Ms. Grice and Mr. Disher produced “A Christmas Carol” for broadcast on WPPB. The move to the cultural center added a new dimension, as the audience there is not only listening to but also watching the 1940s radio play in the same space as the performers, props, and sound effects.

“A Christmas Carol” is this year’s production, opening tomorrow at 7 p.m. and continuing through Dec. 3 with nine additional performances. The production, written by Joe Landry, who has also created live radio plays for “War of the Worlds,” “Meet Me in St. Louis,” vintage Hitchcock films, and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” stars Daniel Becker, Christopher DiSunno, Richard Gardini, Joey Giovingo, Barbara Jo Howard, Deb Rothaug, Ken Rowland, Josephine Wallace, and Gerri Wilson. Mr. Disher will direct.

Additional performances will take place Sunday and Dec. 3 at 2 and 5 p.m., next Thursday and Friday, Dec. 1, at 7 p.m., and Dec. 2 at 2, 5, and 7 p.m. Tickets are $25, $15 for students, and both brunch-and-theater and dinner-and-theater packages are available.